Bread
by Fat Puppy
Summary: A pre-TPM Star Wars story with Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi - The Jedi pair are stranded in a forest where things go badly and perhaps are not what they seem.


**Bread**

_**SUMMARY**__**: A pre-TPM Star Wars story with Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi - The Jedi pair are stranded in a forest where things go badly and perhaps are not what they seem.**_

* * *

Qui-Gon Jinn held up a hand. Obi-Wan Kenobi frowned.

"But, Master."

"I do not want to hear again that you are hungry. We are both at that stage. But until we find our way out of this forest...No more complaining."

The apprentice hung his head slightly, accepting the rebuke. "Yes, Master. I am sorry."

"No need to be sorry, Padawan. This is a predicament that I am not certain how to resolve. Lost and without food. I don't often find myself so uncoordinated as not to be able to determine the correct path."

"This forest is odd, Master. If it were a living being, I would consider it almost...angry."

"I feel it also, Obi-Wan. And I don't like it. It could be part of why I seem to be turned around. I don't recall a forest of this size being part of our research about the planet, do you?"

"I spent several hours reviewing the surface maps. Nothing this immense was visible. Perhaps..."

Obi-Wan paused to think. Eyes and ears surveying the area, the endless realm of tree and bush that streamed on forever. He was quiet so long, that his master eventually set a hand on his shoulder.

"Obi-Wan. Perhaps?"

"Oh, yes. Well, I was thinking. The maps showed nothing this large as visible. Could it be cloaked in some way? A shield or a type of force preventing it from being part of the maps or outer view of the planet?"

"Interesting theory," Qui-Gon said as he raised a thinking hand to his beard. "Although, it would be seem to be beyond the technology of this planet. Hmm..."

"You've told me to not assume the capabilities of planets and their peoples, Master."

"True, however...no, perhaps you are right, Obi-Wan. Unless it's not the people of the planet who are cloaking it. Or perhaps it's not being cloaked at all. Could be it is simply a large forest that isn't yet mapped. I...I think...I don't know. We need to rest, Obi-Wan. My mind is not what it should be at the moment."

The apprentice was immediately concerned at the admission. Rarely did Qui-Gon allow confusion or fatigue to slow him so badly. Obi-Wan reached out a hand to his teacher's arm. "Are you all right, Master?"

"I think so." A slight stagger in his step and Obi-Wan began searching for a place to rest.

"There, Master. A small break in the forest. A grassy area where the sunlight can reach. We can rest. I'd say we would eat as well, but..."

"Please don't mention food, I have finally convinced my stomach that I am not hungry. Help me over to the area you see."

"Yes, Master." Worried and still hungry, the boy moved the older Jedi carefully that short distance to the resting place. It was dry, soft and relatively warm. "Sit, Master. Easy."

The grass and warmth felt comforting on the big Jedi's body. It was nice just to sit after so many hours of walking that had gotten them nowhere. Obi-Wan sat closely beside, watching the man intently; almost to the point of making Jinn uneasy.

"Obi-Wan, I am all right. No need to critique my every move. I promise I will tell you if it worsens."

"Sorry, Master."

"Are you well?"

"I am. Other than just being tired and hungr...ah...I am all right."

"Good. You tell me if that changes, understand?"

"Promise."

Qui-Gon slumped back to rest against the giant tree behind them. So tired. So confused. So hungry. If only they something simple to curtail the cravings. A small loaf of bread perhaps. Simple, yet filling.

Watching the strange behavior of his master, Obi-Wan vowed to stay awake. To keep them safe and stay vigilant for any exit out of this place. He'd also keep watch for anything that might wander by that could be counted as part of a food group.

As Qui-Gon slept, Obi-Wan wandered a few paces in each direction, one eye on the other Jedi, the other checking plants to see if there was anything edible. Nothing. At least nothing he trusted. Last thing they needed was to be poisoned by eating a bad mushroom.

He checked his useless comm. The forest or whatever seemed to still be blocking any signal. They couldn't call for help and they couldn't receive calls. Too bad he couldn't eat the worthless thing.

Frustrated, he flopped onto the ground where he stood. The soggy wet ground. "Damn it." He cursed to himself. "Apparently the only dry part is there where Master Qui-Gon is. This is all so very strange." As he stood, he saw his robe was soaked from the waist down. Just one more problem in this never ending stream of them.

A hungry stomach growled. Two days now without a bite to eat. Qui-Gon had mediated at first to help the situation, but even he couldn't overlook the empty pit of hunger. Perhaps that was why his master was feeling badly. At least he hoped it was something so straightforward.

"Obi-Wan?"

The boy hurried over to the grassy patch, see in the man struggling to wake. "Here, Master. How do you feel?"

"Did a bantha run over me while I slept? Feels like it."

Worry. Escalating now. "No, Master, there are no animals here it seems. Not even birds or bugs. If I didn't know any better, I would think...maybe this place doesn't really exist." Another theory, but he was desperate and reaching with rising fear with Qui-Gon's rapidly deteriorating condition forefront in his mind.

The master pulled himself to sit upright and watched his learner carefully. Seventeen years old. Not perfect. Still so much to learn. But he brought joy to Qui-Gon's life that hadn't been there in such a long time. Jinn smiled at the boy, which of course confused Obi-Wan further.

"Master?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you smiling? I don't believe this predicament is a smiling affair."

Qui-Gon laughed out loud this time causing Obi-Wan to stare cock-eyed at him.

"Now you laugh. What is funny?"

"Just thinking, Obi-Wan. About you. You are growing so quickly. Learning so much. But you have far yet to travel."

"Thank you, Master."

"Sorry. Just trying to take my mind off of my stomach. I had a dream about bread. How wonderful a warm loaf of bread would taste right about now."

Sitting again next to his teacher, Obi-Wan agreed. "I do love fresh bread. You took me to that bakery in the lower levels last year, remember? The aroma's were like nothing before. We should go back there, Master."

"If I recall," Qui-Gon went on, leaning again, this time against his apprentice, "You insisted on having me try those pala cream cakes you love too much. The colored icing turned my lips green for three straight days. I don't believe that I ever returned the favor for that one."

Obi-Wan's turn to smile now. "You didn't. But it _was_ funny. Especially since we had to report to the Council the next day. '_Green lips you do have, Master Jinn. Disobedience to the Council this is.'_ Master Yoda thought you were mocking him."

"Which is why we ended up in the outer rim on our next mission. Next time we go to that bakery, no colored icing."

"That's no fun, Master."

"It's not."

"Master, I was thinking. Our comms still don't work. And with the absence of animals and insects...is there possibility that this place could be non-existent?"

"Non-existent. You mean we are stuck in a holo-gram or similar?"

"I am reaching, I realize. But perhaps?"

"That wouldn't explain why I feel so badly, Obi-Wan."

"No, but that could just be hunger and exhaustion."

Qui-Gon leaned heavier against his learner and coughed. The boy also noticed his brow was wet. Sweat. And he seemed to be shivering slightly.

A hand set on the man's forehead, Obi-Wan felt a rise of panic moving to replace the hunger in his stomach. Fever. High. Qui-Gon was very sick. That couldn't be from lack of food. He could feel that Jinn was trying desperately to heal himself from within and push the virus out of his system, but nothing was happening, other than exhausting the man even more.

"Master, we have to find a way out. You are ill."

"I'm all right, Padawan."

"You're not." Obi-Wan shook his head fiercely, while supporting most of his master's weight against him now. "But I don't know what to do. What do I do, Master?"

Figuring Qui-Gon could feel his panic over their bond by now, the boy gave up trying to sound calm and collected.

"Focus, Obi-Wan. Settle. Go back and think. From the beginning. Every part of this trip, from the time we left Coruscant. Details matter, remember? Even the smallest. Food too, think about food. I'm so hungry. Bread. Remember the bakery I took you to on the lower levels?"

"Master, we just talked about that...you...no, okay."

"Calm, Padawan. I need your help now. Need you to figure this out. I feel quite badly. Getting worse. You can do this, Obi-Wan. Focus. Think. Feel."

Obi-Wan did all those things, ignoring the fact that Qui-Gon was now completely horizontal on the grassy patch, his head laying partially on Ob-Wan's lap.

He focused. He pooled in the Force with all his remaining strength. It was so difficult with the unsettled oddness all around them and the worry and the hunger. Bread. He thought about bread again. Damn that memory. Damn that bread. Stomach growled. And at some point, his vow to stay awake faltered. When he woke, another half day seemed to have passed. Qui-Gon was unconscious. Obi-Wan was desperate.

"Gah! Why can't I focus? I am better than this. I'm not a child. I am a Jedi. I am strong in the Force. Something happened somewhere to cause all of this. But what? Where is it? What am I not seeing or remembering?" He reached down to feel Qui-Gon's face. Burning hot. His tunic was drenched. The shivering was more pounced. The only savior was that the sun was still out.

The sun...still out. The sun...the sun had never been _not_ out. "That can't be right." He said out loud. "This planet has twelve hours light and twelve hours dark, every day, no exceptions. I didn't sleep for twelve hours. So...that's it...there's something there...but what? Think, Kenobi, think!"

Thoughts wandered through his head. Only Qui-Gon was affected by this illness. Other than hunger, Obi-Wan had no signs of feeling that badly. Even his exhaustion wasn't as pronounced as the older Jedi. Bread kept entering his mind, messing with his thoughts. Why that memory? It was such a small one. In his fevered mind, why would Qui-Gon remember some random memory about an errand to a bakery in the lower levels of Coruscant?

"Focus, Kenobi. It's right there in front of you. Just have to see it." He raised his head. "Or...smell it?" And there it was. Just a hint. Barely noticeable unless you went deep enough in focus to actually look for the smell. Bread. Freshly baked bread. Or at least the aroma of it.

This wasn't a forest. They weren't on a planet. When he and Qui-Gon had entered the transport to leave Coruscant, he'd felt a flash of something for a fraction of a second. Enough to get his attention, but not enough to cause alarm. Qui-Gon had seemed not to worry on it, so he simply followed in his shadow as he always did.

That wasn't a transport ship. It was an entry into something else. A test...a trial? A trial for what? There were many years of training ahead for him under Qui-Gon and trials were for determining a padawan was prepared for Knighthood. Had there ever been one given for reasons other than that? And for what reason? Obi-Wan couldn't sense any darkness, but his master had always told him that the Dark Side of the Force was difficult to see and feel. If this was a trial, was it the Council or had they truly come across something dark?

The boy didn't know, but whatever this was or wasn't, his master was still very sick and they were both still very hungry.

Then the bread smell again.

No, they weren't far from anywhere. They weren't lost in a forest. But they _were_ lost and apparently at the mercy of whatever was holding them here.

Trying to shake Qui-Gon awake, Obi-Wan maintained a wary eye on his surroundings. He'd not leave his master. Not here. Not in this condition. Not in the hands of darkness, if that what this was. And running would get them nowhere, they'd already proven that. It was three days now. No food. No water.

"Master, wake up. Please wake up. I know this now...we're in some sort of trial. The forest is not real. None of this is real except us. But how do we escape it? Or do we? Master. Master Qui-Gon. Wake up."

There was slight movement and some low moans as the fever burned higher, but the man was too far gone to wake, even at the urging of his apprentice who so desperately needed his guidance.

So Obi-Wan sat. Quietly then. Watchful. Anxious. Scared. But calm. Reaching out to the Force like Qui-Gon had spent so many hours teaching him.

_Remember your training, Kenobi. Remember everything you've learned from him. You can survive whatever this is. Calm. Patient. Must be patient. How many times has Master Qui-Gon chided you for your inability to remain patient? Almost every day. You'd think you'd catch on by now, but stubborn and headstrong you just have to be, don't you? Breathe. Breathe. Calm._

Keeping it together was exceedingly difficult. He didn't even have to touch Qui-Gon to feel the heat radiating off of him now. It was torrid. It wouldn't be long before dehydration set in, if it hadn't already.

And there was that damn bread again. On his mind. In his memory. His nose. The aroma. There had to be another reason for it. Obi-Wan thought again. Losing himself in the memory of that bakery.

_Lower levels. North side of the city. The darkest section of the city. Criminals. Dealers. Pushers. Black magic...black magic...darkness. We walked through the Red Light Block. I was harassed by several large strange painted creatures with horns. Though I could have handled the situation on my own, Qui-Gon, had stepped forward, put a protective hand on my shoulder and kept them at a distance with a prolonged push from the Force. In the progress of them being unable to move toward us, they'd assaulted him verbally. One of them went even so far as supposedly putting a curse on him. Curses are not real, but there was true darkness around that being. His eyes were yellow rimmed in red. I remember my heart racing, even though I'd tried so hard to stay calm and Jedi-like. Qui-Gon meditated the incident out of his mind once we excited the area. The rest of the evening was relaxing and enjoyable. I too put it out of my mind when my master told me to take a moment with the Force. It was done. The bakery wasn't far. I could smell the fresh dough. The warmth of the cooking flame. This was the connection, this was why the bread memory kept coming back. That thing. That man with the yellow eyes. He may not have 'cursed' Qui-Gon, but this was his doing. The darkness doing his bidding. And I had to stop it. I had to regain control and stop the control it had over me._

And then he had it. Obi-Wan knew what he had to do. A practice of the deepest of mediations he'd ever attempted. Qui-Gon had only ever had him try it twice. Both times were miserable failures despite the effort.

This time would not be that same result.

"Master, I know what I have to do." He said, setting a hand on the man's shoulder. Qui-Gon still lay stretched out, his head pressed into the outside Obi-Wan's thigh. Connection. Obi-Wan knew he needed that connection to his teacher, even though the man was unconscious. Reaching down further, he grasped one of Qui-Gon's hands in his own and held tight.

"Master, if you hear me, please help me. I need to find the Force in that way that I've failed before. I can do it, Master, but if you can go with me..."

There came the lightest of movements of the older Jedi's fingers on the boy's hand. So subtle. So weak. But there. It was all Obi-Wan needed as he closed his eyes, sucked in a deep breath and reached.

—-

When his eyes opened, the forest had vanished. The patchy grassy area was gone. The non-setting sun, no longer present. He and Qui-Gon were somewhere now. A sub level of the Temple perhaps? It was familiar but not so much. Looking down, Obi-Wan saw his master still prone. Hands grasped still, but more tightly so. Fever continued to rage. Sweat had completely soaked his tunic. The learner blinked rapidly to bring himself back and immediately reached for his comm. It worked.

_Thank the Force_, he murmured to himself. "Master, I think we're home. Sort of. I need...you need a healer. Terran, I'll call Terran. He'll come. But I have to know where we are." The room was large, pipes ran along the ceiling, large machines cranked in the distance. There on the wall though. A sign. Level A2. Obi-Wan had never heard of A2, but it didn't matter as he punched in Healer Terran's comm number and the man picked up almost immediately.

"Healer Terran Va'lor."

"Terran, please. I need your help."

"Obi-Wan? Where are you? Where is Qui-Gon? We've been searching for you for days."

"I will explain, but we are on level A2. Master Qui-Gon is very ill. He needs a healer and quickly. He's been unconscious for a day now and we haven't eaten in three and no water and...please help, he's so sick."

Terran's always calm voice helped to settle the apprentice as Obi-Wan could hear his boots tapping the floor as the healer began the walk out of the hospital ward. "How did you get...no, never mind. You can fill me after we find you. We're on our way, Obi-Wan."

Hours later Obi-Wan sat beside. Qui-Gon lay prostrate in a hospital bed. Fluids being directed into his system. Rehydration would happen quickly. The boy had a tall cylinder of water he was ordered to drink three of in the next few hours. He also chewed on a snack bar until a meal was brought up for him. If a stomach could sigh in relief, Obi-Wan's did. His thoughts turned back again though. To food. To bread. He couldn't shake the thought from his tired mind. He needed to ask a favor that might seem a bit on the strange side.

"Healer Terran, I have a odd request. The bakery I told you about. On the north side lower levels. They have the most amazing bread there. And pala cream cakes."

"You want me to make a bakery run for you?" The healer smirked.

"Well, not you personally, but..."

"I see. You are an interesting boy, Kenobi. However, as you and your master have had quite the terrifying adventure, I will send someone, making sure to avoid the section of the city where your dark encounter took place. Bread is fine. Pala cakes? Well, not until your body has good intake of healthy food. All that sugar will knock you for a loop. I'll see that you get your bread though. It may have saved your life after all. Bread of all things."

"It also may have almost killed us."

"True, but Qui-Gon will be fine in a few days. As long as the fever subsides. It's a nasty virus, but with treatment, very curable. You did well, Obi-Wan. I know he'll be very proud of you once he knows what's actually going on around him."

Obi-Wan thanked the man and then focused his attention back on his master, curling his fingers around the larger ones. "We're safe, Master. And you'll be well soon. I'll stay with you." The hand tightened just like it did in the fake forest.

—-

The most wonderful smell of fresh homemade bread brought Obi-Wan out of his semi-conscious state. He had slumped forward at some point, setting his head down on the mattress close to Qui-Gon. He woke and wiped at his sleepy eyes and stared into the icy blue ones of the master healer. Terran.

"You should be sleeping in the other bed, Obi-Wan. That's why it's there."

Obi-Wan rubbed hands this time over his entire face, unable to shake the exhaustion, despite the sleep.

"Master Qui-Gon seemed confused through our bond, so I didn't want to leave him. I calmed him though. It's okay. That's how this sickness started, he got confused and different. Perhaps it ends the same way. Whatever that creature did to him..."

Still nervous about the condition of his sickly master, Terran took pity on the padawan.

"I promise you, Obi-Wan. He will be fine. Trust me."

"I do trust you. With my life. With his life. But this entire thing has been very unsettling."

"I know it has. Here. The bread you wanted." A large loaf of soft golden bread wrapped in a clear bag was set on the small nearby table.

Obi-Wan lifted his nose at the amazing smell. "Thank you so much, Terran."

"Good, now I am heading home for the evening. Healer O'Kahn is on duty if you need anything. I myself need rest. As do you. Sleep. On the empty bed. And that's an order young man."

A smile and Obi-Wan nodded. "I will." _Just as soon as I eat half of this entire loaf_. Was his thought as he lifted the bread to his face and inhaled happily.

"Master, when you wake, I have bread for you. You remember all that talking we did about break when your were sick in the forest? Oh, and then I can tell you all about what happened."

The learner wasn't awake when Qui-Gon finally came around the next day. Terran thought about waking him, but decided against it. The sleeping boy allowed Terran time to catch Jinn up on what had transpired.

"He was terrified and exhausted and hungry, but damn if he didn't pull it all together and figure it out. Not to mention, looking after you for most of it. That's quite an apprentice you have there, Qui-Gon."

"Indeed," the big man agreed. Terran had raised the bed so Jinn could sit more upright, carefully sipping on a cup of water and nibbling on a piece of bread. "He tries, Terran. He does. Some things are difficult for him still. Patience being high on the list, but he is so capable of so many things. This only proves it. I am very proud of him."

"I'm glad. Make sure you tell him that so he can stop being so concerned about your health. I've told him about twenty times that you would be fine and he still worries so." The healer glanced over at the sleeping boy before deciding..."Okay, I'd better rouse him. If he knows you've been awake for hours and I didn't tell him...Obi-Wan, wake up. Come on. There's someone here to see you."

"Master Qui-Gon!" Was the shout as the boy bounced from the bed and to the Jedi's side. "You're awake. Thank for Force. I didn't think...I was so worried...You were sick and the fever and...darkness and bread, the smell of bread, I knew what happened and how it...Master..."

Jinn halted his babbling. "Obi-Wan?"

"Yes, Master?"

"You are babbling. It is very un-Jedi like."

"It is, I am sorry, Master. I'm just so happy to see you better. Healer Terran promised me but you know how impatient I can be and then it took forever for your fever to go down and..."

"Obi-Wan. Babbling again."

"Yes, Master."

"Sit." Qui-Gon patted place next to him, thin mattress sagging when the padawan settled his weight down. "Terran told me what happened. Everything you told him, he relayed to me. But I want you to share it all with me as well. Just not today. Soon. There is still the problem of the dark creature that created this nightmare still roaming the city freely. And for us...we will learn from this and see what we could've done better or different."

"I did everything I could, Master. I promise I did."

"Calm, Padawan. I know you did and I am very proud of you. Everything can be a learning experience with me, you know that. But you worked the problem, faced and defeated it and looked after me at the same time. All the while dealing with exhaustion and hunger in yourself. It took great control and great strength."

The boy agreed and nodded quickly. "I was...I am very tired, Master. And still hungry, even though I've eaten half a loaf of bread."

"You have, haven't you?" The loaf had been hastily ripped apart, not sliced. Qui-Gon wondered if the boy hadn't just started gnawing on the thing. He never was one to do well without food in his system after all. This time was different however and Qui-Gon made a point to tell him once more, patting the top of his hand.

"Very proud, Obi-Wan."

A light blush fell across the young face, flashing just long enough to force a small laugh from the older Jedi. Through the laughter though, he could also see the severe exhaustion in the young face. The stress of recent days had taken it's toll.

"Padawan, now that I am on my way to better health and we are safe, I want you to sleep. And I mean real sleep. At home. In your own bed."

"But, Master..."

"Don't but me. That's an order. You can barely keep your eyes open. Terran said I can go home tomorrow. I may need your help, so I want you rested."

It was unlikely that Qui-Gon would need help moving from the hospital to their quarters, but it would make Obi-Wan feel better to assist him. So, he'd allow it. But only on the condition that he go home and sleep.

"Yes, Master. I understand. Can we do one thing though before I go?" He reached for the bread, carefully (this time) slicing two pieces. "Without that memory of that trip to the bakery, I don't know that I would have figured out how to save us. And I am still very hungry. Here."

"Perhaps we should return there then." Qui-Gon said as he accepted the slice.

Obi-Wan shook his head emphatically knowing their walk though the north side and visit with that darkness was the reason they had gotten into this predicament in the first place. "No, we should not. Not ever again."

A shared smile.

"No, you are correct." A thought then. Qui-Gon remembered. "I do believe we will have a few days off from training upcoming. Healer's orders. I know of a place on nearby Spira. Caters mostly to tourists who spend their days lounging on beaches, but they have the most decedent of select pasties. It's a little out of the way to visit a bakery, but..."

"I've heard of Spira. The wealthy and sun worshipping favor it. We are neither, Master. But if they have delicious food...I am still very hungry."

That settled it. "Soon then, Padawan. Give me a day to recharge, brief the Council, and we will take a short period of leave. I do believe we have earned it, have we not?"

"We have very much earned it, Master."

"Indeed we have." Qui-Gon grinned proudly at the boy who had become his dear student, his family. And then he shooed him out the door. "Off now, Obi-Wan. I will see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Master. I'm glad you are well again."

"I'm glad to be well. I owe many thanks to a certain apprentice of mine who is _stalling_...Obi-Wan." A Qui-Gon Jinn lowered tone accompanied by a frown was never a good thing, but this frown had the hint of a smirk to it.

"I'm going, I'm going." Then he reached for the bread. "But I'm taking this with me. I just may devour it all. Good night, Master."

"Good night, again, Obi-Wan."

"Master, about Spira..."

"Go. Home. Now. Or you'll get four days of deep meditation instead of four days of sun and cream cakes."

"And bread? I do hope they have bread there, Master."

There came a push from teacher to student. A push through the Force and Obi-Wan found himself sliding involuntarily out the hospital room door. Qui-Gon may be still recovering, but he had enough to impel a living body through an open doorway.

Obi-Wan got the point. "Okay, I know, I know. Home. Rest. Now."

The room went quiet as Qui-Gon released his touch on the Force and settled back into his hospital bed. His small slice of bread eaten, a part of him wished for another. The other part of him knew that meant Obi-Wan returning and another drawn-out good night sequence. He chuckled at the thought.

Then his head hit the pillow and he was out for the night.

* * *

END


End file.
